Book-to-film adaptations often get a bad rap. It’s rare for them to truly satisfy the audience, and they hardly ever live up to the expectations of the fans of the original material. When it comes to Japanese works adapted by Western directors, the situation usually takes a nosedive. They tend to prioritize making the content

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The Wheel of Heaven is a 2022 American sci-fi /dark comedy, written and directed by Joe Baddon with additional writing from Jason Kruppa. Joe is most known as the writer/director of the films The God Inside My Ear (2017), Sister Tempest (2020), and the short prologue to The Wheel of Heaven, Blood of the Dinosaurs

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UFO Sweden Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2023

To believe is one thing. To know is something completely different. UFO Sweden (2022) is the emotionally driven sci-fi thriller that every fan of The X-Files needs to see. Don’t let the title throw you; there are no tiny green men or cliche flying saucers in this film. Instead, director Victor Danell and co-writer Jimmy

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Toronto After Dark 2023 Canadian shorts

In addition to those that played ahead of the main features, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival screened eight more Canadian shorts in a dedicated showcase. From rotoscope animation to avian abduction, these films cover a variety of genres, subgenres, and tones. Some are pure horror; others offer no scares at all. Here are our

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Toronto After Dark 2023 International shorts

The international shorts on offer at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival are among the strongest of the entire lineup. From a bizarre reunion with a lost family member to a futuristic Thai cyberpunk dystopia, these films comprise a dark, unconventional, and undeniably memorable experience. Here are our thoughts on the International Shorts Showcase.

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And you thought your family was bad. Daniel Powell (Joel David Moore) is a sweet, gentle aspiring chef who has just become engaged to his lovely girlfriend Emily (Chantel Riley). All he wants now is to get his estranged family together in one place to introduce Emily and invite them to the wedding, but there’s

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Toronto After Dark 2023 Canadian shorts

Alongside their dedicated Shorts Showcase (both Canadian and International), the Toronto After Dark Film Festival offers bitesize extras for those attending. Each of the main features is preceded by a short film, resulting in a bevy of horror and comedy in equal measure. Here are our thoughts on those ten extra shorts. Contents: *666 Black

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In the not-so-distant future, death is a choice for some.  Robert Holz’s first feature-length film, Restore Point (2023), is a masterpiece, brilliantly capturing the dystopian future that we all fear we are headed toward in a story that feels realistic. While the film is focused on a technological breakthrough that allows humans to reboot themselves

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With that title, that font, and that poster, I don’t think there’s any doubt of where this film was going to go. Yes, it is indeed a tongue-in-cheek slasher based in the 1980s, just as you probably expected. It’s the 2020s so for whatever reason that means the 80s is now the hottest property for some

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Crisalida (2023) [The Chrysalis] is a Spanish extreme gore horror film, written and directed by Mikel Balerdi. Well-known in the extreme cinema community, Mikel is notorious for pushing the boundaries of artistic expression—writing and directing the films The Girl with the Cutter (2020), and Golgota (2020), as well as taking part in the collaborative anthology

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